Olympic studios

Recording

Olympic Studios is a commercial recording studio located at 117 Church Road, in the south-western suburb of Barnes in London. The studio is best known for the many famous rock and pop music recordings made there in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The original Olympic Studios was established in central London in the early 1960s and it was used by a number of important British groups including The Yardbirds. The studio moved to its present location in Barnes ca. 1965.

The building that currently houses the studio was constructed in 1906 as a dance hall, and it remained a popular live entertainment venue until the mid-1960s, when it was purchased by Cliff Adams, who converted it into a recording studio.

Olympic opened in Barnes in 1966. The Rolling Stones were one of its first clients, recording six consecutive LPs there between 1966 and 1972. It was used extensively by Led Zeppelin, who recorded tracks there for all of their studio albums up to and including 'Physical Graffiti' in 1975. Also in 1975 Queen used the studio for there groundbreaking album 'A Night at the Opera'. The studio saw the production of many other landmark albums and singles by artists such as The Small Faces, Jimi Hendrix, Traffic, Hawkwind and Procol Harum, including the latter's megahit 'A Whiter Shade of Pale'. It was the venue for the recording of the original album version of the famous rock musical 'Jesus Christ Superstar' in 1970.